"العراق والخليج الفارسي" [ظ‎‎١‎٤‎٥] (٨٦٢/٢٩٥)

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202 CLIMATE, VEGETATION, AND FAUNA
of ducks come to Iraq for the cold weather and include all the common
European kinds as well as the red-crested pochard and marbled duck.
Flamingoes are occasionally seen on inundations, and the marsh areas
are the haunt of many herons, including the giant heron, a huge bird
like a purple heron but much larger. Storks regularly pass through
Iraq on their way south, some remain for the winter, while a few are
resident or at least nest in Iraq. Spoonbills frequent the marshes
throughout the year, and the white ibis is not uncommon in southern
Iraq. The houbara is widely spread, but the great and little bustards
are confined to northern districts. In suitable country both the stone
curlew and the common pratincole are resident and not uncommon.
All three snipe occur, the great only on migration, but the others
remain in fair numbers throughout the winter. Woodcock have been
obtained more than once near Basra. Most of the European sand
pipers, shanks, and curlews abound all through the cold weather.
The black-winged stilt and avocet nest in the marshes. The little
ringed and Kentish plovers are common residents, but the common
ringed plover along with the Caspian and large sand-plovers only
occurs on migration. Both the white-tailed and red-wattled lapwings
are found throughout the year, the common lapwing only in winter in
small numbers, at which season quantities of oyster-catchers haunt
the mouth of the Shatt al Arab. The crab-plover, a black and white
bird, is also to be seen there; it is an abnormal plover and lays its
single white egg in a hole underground.
Among the gulls, the common, yellow-legged, herring, and black
headed are common in winter. The black and common lesser Caspian
and gull-billed terns are all residents, and so too is the little grebe,
while the great crested is a winter visitor and the black-necked a scarce
resident.
Most of the rails are great skulkers and difficult to see, but of the
more conspicuous the corncrake is a passage migrant, the water-hens,
coot, and purple gallinule are resident. The wood-pigeon is very
local, but has occurred at Basra, and the rock-dove swarms in most
towns in a semi-domesticated state. In the summer the turtle-dove is
very common, and wherever there are date-palms the Indian ring
dove appears to nest.
Four kinds of sandgrouse are found in Iraq, the large pin-tailed
species being the most abundant. In some places it occurs in
enormous numbers, and there is evidence that it migrates locally.
Next in numbers comes the spotted sandgrouse, which is also subject
to local movement but is not as a rule found in such large flocks. The